“Agnes, is all of this really necessary?” Seth groaned, stepping out of the changing room.

The old woman watched him intently, not missing a single detail as she made him walk and do all types of movements that, according to her, were of utmost importance for the choosing of the perfect battle suit. It was a bit annoying.

But it wasn’t as though he wasn’t used to her character. Though this didn't stop him from uttering a few words in protest.

“Of course, dear.” She said, as a matter of fact. “I can't let one of my favourite customers get out of my store looking like a monkey.”

Seth looked at himself in the tri-fold mirror and had to admit she made a good point with that. He looked great.

In contrast to the loose black pants and white shirts he always wears, the black tight-fitting armour suited him perfectly. Especially due to the thin streaks of red leather tracing the joints and edges that accentuated his scarlet eyes and ink-black hair. It didn’t hinder his mobility either, which was a good plus. And while it didn't contain any scripts, the materials were surprisingly durable.

“What do you think, dear?” Agnes asked as Seth examined himself in the mirror.

“Definitely better than the last clothes you’ve shown me earlier,” Seth said, looking at himself.

He was neither tall nor a short guy, just average. The well-toned muscles he had accumulated over the last two cycles did make him look slightly older than what he was, but not too much. His youthful features were more than apparent.

Agnes's eyes narrowed, and her heels clicked against the wooden floor as she strode behind him, squeezing his shoulders. Strongly.

“Sorry, dear… Did you say something?”

Seth froze.

“N-No… I-I… look how beautiful the sky is right now...”

Agnes snorted before letting him go. She went inside the repository and began another scrutinising selection of possible attires.

She is a bit too rude sometimes, Seth thought, wiping the sweat out of his forehead and massaging the itching muscles on his shoulders.

Agnes was a very tall lady for the standards of Darkhold City, standing a little bit more than 1.7 meters tall. The very upright, poise stance she was so proud of was probably the main reason she still conserved her stature despite her advanced age.

She wore a simple, yet elegant purple-blue robe laced with her favourite silver threading. Even with his extensive experience visiting her store, Seth had yet to see a garment with the same silky texture as her robes. But he knew they were expensive, really expensive.

Surprisingly, her face had very gentle features that reminded Seth of the caretakers that used to take care of him, and the rest of the kids, back at the orphanage. Though considering that she never smiled, one couldn't really appreciate her features. The wrinkles didn't help much either. But he knew, from her husband's stories, that at least once, a long time ago, she had been quite a charming woman.

After gathering the two identical suits that Agnes had chosen for him and taking them to the front counter to pay, Seth was met with a confused Rax.

“Since when did you pay for your clothes, kid?” he said, with an expression of fake shock on his wrinkled face.

Seth looked briefly at the tags attached to the armours. “These are a bit more expensive than what I usually take, so…” he looked back at him, a bit embarrassed. “I’d feel more comfortable paying.”

“Since when did you start caring for such matters?” Rax said playfully, widening his eyes and looking at him as though he wasn't the Seth he knew.

“I-”

Despite that, Rax didn’t even let him say a word as he directly put the clothes on his pack and forced him to take everything with him. His wife, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere behind him, nodded in support.

“Seth Blakura, we already know that you’re preparing yourself for the Ranking Competition. So, there is no point in playing it dump here… Just think of it as an investment from our side.” From the glares she was giving him, Seth knew she wasn’t going to accept a no as an answer.

He only managed to give a short nod as he accepted the clothes, a bit hesitant nonetheless. Rax gave him a few pats on the back.

“Don't think much about it, son. Just do your best.” Those were his last words before he literally bolted out of the shop, leaving him at her wife's mercy.

What happened afterwards was exactly what Seth had tried to avoid; endless scolds and warnings of how dangerous the Ranking Competition was, all the political struggles behind the scenes, the Sacred Church threats and bla bla bla.

It took him nearly half an hour to get out of Agnes’ never-ending blabbing. Exhausted, but with this cosy feeling that he couldn't quite describe with words alone. It was great.

The next few hours weren't that interesting, aside from spending his time buying some provisions and getting a new blade for the upcoming months. Nevertheless, Seth still enjoyed his last few moments of tranquillity as he strolled through the markets of the Central District.

Darkhold City was an amazing city.

The several stories high buildings, the crowded inns and packed taverns on the sides made the city seem a lot bigger and denser than what it actually was. Not to mention in the markets where Seth found himself—more often than then—marvelling at the variety of armouries, smithies and many other shops that one could find there.

For many merchants, however, what distinguished Darkhold City the most from the rest of the cities at the border of the region was the issue that one wouldn't find a single vessel type artefact on the long and wide paths that separated every district. They were a prohibited item. Which was quite a pain in the ass. Especially for the merchants of the area.

Not like they dare to voice out their displeasure.

The Sacred Church’s punishments for those who broke or questioned their rules weren't precisely kind, so the people who were willing to challenge their authority were not many.

At least not openly.

Anyway, that wasn't Set’s business.

He enjoyed the bustling sounds of people going and coming as he made his way through the congested roads of the central market—in search of his final destination.

*

Two cycles ago, Seth hadn’t been allowed entry to the Adventure Guild as he had yet to awaken. He’d only managed to appreciate it from the outside.

Now inside, Seth had to admit it was bigger than what he’d anticipated.

The Adventure Guild’s headquarters was a massive complex of structures of grey coloured bricks with the central building at the center and several smaller ones connecting on the sides.

The bigger one functioned as a sort of administrative center, as it was the hall where the different assignments, quests and contracts were dealt with before they were published in the daily bulletin. The annexed structures or Auxiliary Halls were the areas where people and merchants alike could trade their treasures, sell off old equipment, and buy new gear, supplies and rare resources.

It was the area Seth was most curious about. However, without an official badge, there wasn't much he could do without paying the exorbitant over-taxes non-affiliated people were forced to ‘contribute’.

He strode directly to the main hall.

Inside, Seth found a vast open space, three storeys high, with a large circular counter in the middle. But despite the vast area available, even larger than the Ceremony Hall of the Eastern Temple he was familiar with, Seth had to make his way through a crowd that didn’t lose to the packed roads of the central market.

Only after half an hour did he manage to call the attention of one of the many pretty receptionists stationed behind the counter.

"Oh, welcome dear.” The black-haired receptionist said, giving him a pearly white smile. “I assume you come for the rank examination?"

Seth just nodded and slid the temporary permit the guards had given him at the entrance. The receptionist took it and passed it over a rectangular object before taking a piece of black paper from below the counter. “Your personal information is already in the system, but I will need a core and aged assessments to complete the registration.”

“Not a problem,” Seth said, taking it and channelling his mana. As he did so, twelve and a half red circles began to appear on the black paper. Like the annual rings of wood growth, the fiery red light was proof of his advancement stage and the rings of his age.

There is still some time before my birthday, he thought, staring absentmindedly at the half-lighted ring.

“You’re doing quite good on your own, honey.” The receptionist said, snapping Seth out of his thoughts.

“Do you think so?” he managed to say after a time, his thoughts still sluggish and static.

Though the young lady didn’t seem to notice it.

“Pretty much, considering your… background, there aren’t many boys of your age that can keep up with the recommendations,” she glanced back at the rectangular device. “Though it’s much more impressive that you're still half a cycle ahead of the first deadline.”

“Yeah, but I've been using mana gathering pills since pretty much my awakening.” He sighed. “I don't think I'm that good, honestly.”

“How many of them did you use?” she inquired, a gleam of interest flashing in her black eyes.

Seth stroked the back of his neck in thought. “Around a hundred and fifty, but it should be a little more as the last few weeks I had been using around two or three pills every day… so… around a hundred and eighty pills.”

“A hundred and eighty? Wow! You might be quite wealthy to spend that much… not even my family gave me that many pills.” The last words come as a whisper, but Seth decided to ignore them as she continued with the registration process.

“Okay, this is for you,” she handed him a square, wooden object embossed with a sword and bow crossed over a shield—the emblem of the Adventure Guild. She raised her finger and pointed in the direction of a group of people in front of the only door of the hall with the number 12 carved on it. “The test for the next batch of applicants is starting in a few minutes at the examination hall n°12. I'm not sure if there is still some space left, but if you hurry up you can probably snatch the last places. Just show the badge to the instructors and they will take care of the rest,”

Nodding rather hurriedly, Seth bolted out towards the door as he saw the group making their way inside.

I have to hurry.